Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Senegal’s Public Sector

Senegal faces challenges in adding sufficient and low-cost generation capacity to meet demand and achieve energy security. As in other countries in West Africa, electricity demand in Senegal is rapidly growing at an annualized rate of eight percent per year. The goal of achieving universal access by 2025, an increase from 68 percent at the end of 2017, will further add to current demand. Despite relatively high access rates overall, the rural access rate is low (40 percent at the end of 2017). Moreover, many social services (health centers, schools, etc.) are not yet electrified.   Against this background, the World Bank supported the Government of Senegal in developing a plan to scale up energy efficiency in the public sector (municipal and central administration). This plan was intended to help estimate needed investments and propose the corresponding institutional, regulatory, capacity, and operational frameworks.   The World Bank mandated Econoler to develop this plan.

Under the mandate, Econoler carried out the following tasks:

• Task 1: Inventory and identify investments. This task included preparing a long list of potential energy efficiency (EE) investment opportunities in the public sector, focusing on electricity, based on existing reports and prior analytic work by the World Bank and other organizations.
• Task 2: Develop a public EE plan including recommendations for enabling conditions. Econoler analyzed and selected key EE investment opportunities from the long list established under Task 1 and thereafter developed a public-sector EE plan for the implementation of EE investments in the public sector.
• Task 3: Organize a dissemination and capacity building workshop. Under this task, Econoler organized a study tour with SENELEC, key officials in selected municipalities and a workshop and training for those entities identified as playing major roles in the implementation of shortlisted investment opportunities.

  Upon completion of the mandate, Senegal had a consensual EE plan validated and accepted by all stakeholders to reduce public-sector electricity expenditures.